1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an image printing method and a non-impact printer.
2. Description of Related Art
A non-impact printer, typified by an electrophotographic printer, generally receives printing information from an upper level controller, for instance, such as a microcomputer, a workstation, and the like, and prints by means of a printing head, such as an LED head. When such a non-impact printer receives a character code as information from the upper level controller, the non-impact printer develops it under a predetermined resolution, according to a predetermined font size and a resolution power of the printing head, and prints on the basis of the resolution power complying with the printing head.
To the contrary, when the non-impact printer receives a gray scaled image data signal (hereinafter, called "video signal"), such as a signal of photograph, from the upper level controller, no problem arises in the case when the resolution edited by the upper level controller and the resolution of the printing head of the non-impact printer are conformed with each other, but in the case when they are disconformed, some problem arises. For example, when a non-impact printer, in which the resolution of the printing head thereof is 300 DPI, receives a video signal edited with 1,200 DPI by the upper level controller, the resolutions in both of the raster and paper feed directions vary to 1/4, respectively, and therefore, the area resolution of the printer is degraded to 1/16.